Host Neal Asbury opened his nationally syndicated “Neal Asbury’s Made in America” show on Radio America (aired by some 70 affiliates) by advocating a plan by former Ambassador John Negroponte that calls for Syrian refugees to be placed in refugee centers on the Turkish/Syrian border close to their home instead of being relocated to countries so far away that most refugees won’t return to their home country.
The first guest on Made in America was friend of the show U.S. Representative Blake Farenthold, currently serving his third term in Congress and representing the 27th District of Texas, who responded to a new Pew poll that found that only 50 percent of Americans can be considered middle class.
“Obama talks about appealing to the middle class, but thanks to his policies, the middle class is shrinking while the lower classes are growing. This is buoyed by immigrants who will work for less pay while millions of Americans are so frustrated that they have completely dropped out of the workforce,” noted Farenthold, who added that allowing more immigrants in from Syria will only exacerbate the problem.
One of the problems is that the Syrian refugees cannot be fully vetted to weed out potential terrorist threats.
“The vetting system is broken. How can we let in people without knowing who they are and what their backgrounds are?” asked co-host Dr. Rich Roffman, who noted that already 47 percent of the New York City workforce are recent immigrants.
Farenthold is frustrated that that while America has good laws on the books, this president isn’t adhering to them, especially when it comes to immigration. He revealed that in conversations with border guards, they noted that when they catch illegal immigrants they don’t have the power to deport them unless they are convicted felons.
“We need to create good paying U.S. jobs for Americans. People need something to look forward to in their lives and a reason to get out of bed each day. And that reason is a good job. There is a lot of frustration in this country and Donald Trump is tapping into it by centering on the lies coming out of the White House, Congress and people like Hillary Clinton. People would rather have an honest leader than one that lies,” concluded Farenthold.
The next Made in America guest was another friend of the show, former ambassador John Negroponte, who served as the United States Deputy Secretary of State and as the first ever Director of National Intelligence. He also served in the United States Foreign Service where he had tours of duty as United States ambassador in Honduras, Mexico, and the Philippines.
“The solution to the Syrian immigrant issue is to create safe havens near the countries of origin so it would incentivize immigrants to return to their country. The farther they travel away from their country of origin the least likely they will want to return. Turkey is doing a good job accepting refugees, but many refugees are passing through Turkey and resettling in Germany. It would make sense to create refugee centers on the Turkish/Syrian border supported by Russia, the U.S. and the U.N.,” proposed Negroponte.
The next guest on Made in America was Brian Kilmeade, host of Fox & Friends and the author of “Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates: The Forgotten War That Changed American History.”
Kilmeade makes the case that America’s current battle with Islam is not a new phenomenon. He notes that when Thomas Jefferson became president in 1801, America faced a crisis. The new nation was deeply in debt and needed its economy to grow quickly, but its merchant ships were under attack. Pirates from North Africa’s Barbary Coast routinely captured American sailors and held them as slaves, demanding ransom and tribute payments far beyond what the new country could afford.
Bu after finding that negotiations were not working, Jefferson decided to move beyond diplomacy. He sent the U.S. Navy’s new warships and a detachment of Marines to blockade Tripoli—launching the Barbary Wars and beginning America’s journey toward future superpower status.
“The parallels between the 1780s and today are that Islamists were not interested in peace. They made it clear that Islam was the only true religion and waged war to that end. The U.S. prevailed and the world recognized America’s resolve. This is what’s needed today. When we win, other terrorists will take note,” proposed Kilmeade.
The final guest on Made in America was Andrew Follett, writing for The Daily Caller, who noted that while Hillary Clinton was a major force behind bringing fracking to African countries during her tenure as Secretary of State, she now opposes fracking in the United States. Clinton made promoting fracking for natural gas in other countries a big priority during her tenure as Secretary of State, and made much of the fracking proposed by the State Department that would have been done on public lands. Today, she flip flopped and now supports phasing out fracking on public lands in the United States,” revealed Follett.
Neal and Dr. Roffman highlighted some of the headlines making news, including the fact that only half of Americans are considered middle class and that half of young people believe that the American Dream is dead. And that the U.S. labor participation rate is the lowest since 1977.
‘How can we vote for a party that says they support the middle class at the same time the middle class is disappearing? How can it be good for the country when we don’t have enough good jobs for Americans but we continue to give them to new immigrants?” asked Dr. Roffman.
Each week Neal Asbury’ Made in America provides Neal’s insights into the week’s top news stories and their impact on the worlds of entrepreneurship, small business ownership and the overall economy. Neal’s analysis, together with co-host Dr. Richard Roffman, a veteran 30-year publisher with extensive domestic and international experience, takes a non-biased approach based on real life experience in business as an American manufacturer and exporter. Made in America airs nationally each Saturday from 7-8:00 PM on Radio America. Link to Made in America at http://www.nealasburysmadeinamerica.com.
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